Same basic stuff – though she denies it was her, Melissa King (allegedly) did an – as in one – amateur scene on GirlsDoPorn.com. She has given up her crown.

Today, the story is everywhere.

(pictured: the interwebs provide some amazing montages…)

Never one to trust the mainstream news’ assessment of what constitutes “porn” (and always one to see exactly what it is they’re talking about on AVN and XBIZ), I went Googling around. I subsequently found this:

Here’s more video of Melissa. In this, she is talking about her experiences growing up in foster care:

oh, Melissa!! *sob*

This is what we seem to have here: a young girl, over 18, who has struggled with a pretty difficult past. Sometime in between winning the Miss Delaware Teen USA title, starting college, being a gymnast, and working on ideas of advocacy and activism, Melissa apparently did this one amateur scene. (I’ve watched it. It’s kinda awkward, but fine. And I can’t imagine it’s not her)

Though she’s clearly a young person who needs to polish her on-camara presentation a bit more (because I’m totally one to talk here – not!!), she has many great insights and ideas. Her perspective on the foster care system and the struggles kids must go through therein – during, as they age out, and after – are invaluable. And her “pretty” (young, white, conventionally good-looking) face speaking about issues we as a culture love to ignore from direct experience may force some of us to see these issues in a more nuanced light. Points to hugely problematic issues in the system and our culture, but still – invaluable.

Aaaaand probably likely that Melissa is never going to get to work on any of these things now because of that one scene.

Here’s the thing: Melissa is not a Hilton or a Kardashian, thus her foray into sex performance/”performance” is not going to be PRed away. Further, this is not another example of what we usually see – a former porn performer whose past “comes back to haunt them” as their post-porn life is destroyed by our judgmental and hypocritical culture. (see: Stacie Halas)

Melissa’s case is something different, something I’ve not yet seen. In the video above, where Melissa talks about issues facing young people in the foster care system, she discusses money. And, in her (alleged) GirlsDoPorn video, she says she needs money. There are SO MANY issues tied in to that – dreams, the cost of pursuing those dreams, the cost of simply living, immediacy, planning, patience, and the public permanence of the internet. Couple all that with a young woman who has probably struggled financially for the duration of her life and you get… this?